Arun's Blog

I bought a Gateway GT5628 Quad Core Desktop (refurbished) for a good deal from buy.com. The desktop's configuration is

• Intel® Core 2 Q6600 2.4GHz Quad Core
• 3072MB RAM
• 500GB 7200 SATA II HD
• DVD ±RW 18X multi dual
• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce® 8500GT DVI VGA
• 15-in-1 card reader
• Fax/Modem
• Vista Home Premium

I had 3 desktops and a dual core laptop. I wanted to donate 2 of my old desktops (with Ubuntu derivatives installed) and I was planning to buy a laptop for a good deal, but when I saw the deal for this configuration, I jumped up and ordered it even thought desktop was not what I wanted. I may have to wait few more months to get the quad core in the laptop and few more months to get good deals on it. The only part that I had to think was, since it was factory refurbished, Gateway offered only 90 days warranty. Dell generally offers 1 year warranty on refurbished desktops. I still went ahead and bought it because if it works, it would be a decent investment for next 3-4-5 years. I selected the standard free 7-10 days shipping and as usual, I got the product in 3 days.

Due to a good configuration, the system is not terribly slow due to Windows Vista. Vista makes the system slower, but I might soon install Ubuntu. I expect Ubuntu to run noticeably faster compared to my previous desktop. I'm waiting for Ubuntu 8.04 to be released before I install it in my new machine. I moved my old desktop to my living room and connected it to my 46» Samsung LCD HDTV. I installed Kubuntu 8.04 beta with KDE 4.2 in it. I will be using it to watch Youtube and other shows from Internet. I have to say that applications in Kubuntu (KDE for that matter) crashed quite a few times in the 2-3 days since I installed it compared to Ubuntu 8.04 beta/alpha, which I'm using for the past few weeks.

(Photo: buy.com)

Technorati Tags: Gateway GT5628, Intel, Core2 Quad, NVidia, GeForce 8500GT, Windows Vista